Liseberg, Gothenburg 01.06.2010: discuss it here!!

A beautiful, dry, sunny day is forecast for Gothenburg tomorrow, which will be just perfect for Salem's open-air show at Stora Scenen in Liseberg tomorrow night at 20:00! Regular readers will know that Gothenburg is a very special place for me, but sadly I won't be there this time :((
however I'm extra excited for all of you who will be there tomorrow night! As usual, this is the place for you to discuss the show.

All your comments and YouTube links etc are very welcome as always!!

(Of course it will be a very different show from Salem's last appearance in the city, just 10 weeks ago at the Konserthuset..if you were at that show and are going to see Salem again tomorrow night, I'd be particularly interested to hear your views on tomorrow's show).

And finally...good luck to Salem and the band for tomorrow night!

Salem's video interview with Cosmopolitan in Finland (in English)

I just found this tonight - a video interview recorded last week when Salem was on his first ever promotional trip to Finland. Check out http://www.cosmopolitan.fi/cosmo-nyt/cosmotv/1/348/ where you'll find Salem talking about his musical childhood, not listening to music, Melodifestivalen and his positive outlook on life. I thought this was a nice little interview. Enjoy!

30,000 reasons to celebrate!

Good news! Salem now has over 30,000 fans on Facebook! (I wonder how many of them visit this blog???.....you're all welcome!)

Salem on Fredagsmonarkin in Finland

Salem appeared on YLE Radio's "Fredagsmonarkin" - here's the link to Salem's interview (in Swedish): http://arenan.yle.fi/video/1018975

Swedish charts update

In this week's Sverige Topplistan singles chart, "Keep On Walking" is at no. 39 whilst "4'O'Clock" is up to no. 52.

In the album chart, "Ignore This" is at no. 14.

I forgot to mention the other day that "Keep On Walking" placed at no. 3 in the Mix Megapol Topp 1000 chart - Salem was the highest-placed Swedish act in this chart, so congratulations!! Full chart at http://www.mixmegapol.se/mix-topp-1000

Salem's back on the radio tomorrow

Tune into Vakna med The Voice at 07.25 and then Mix Megapol at 08.05 tomorrow morning!!

EDIT 28.05.10: If you heard any of the interviews, as usual I'd be very happy if you let me know what he said? (I was just wondering if any of the presenters dared to mention a certain song contest last night???? )

Salem confirmed for Malmofestivalen

It's now official: http://www.malmofestivalen.se/klara-bokningar/

Salem interview (in English) on The Voice in Finland today

Here are clips from Salem's appearance on The Voice in Finland today - even better news for all those of you out there who don't understand Swedish, as the interview is in the English language. It's always nice to hear Salem speaking English, so I really enjoyed this. Hope you all enjoy it too.


http://www.voice.fi/index.php?option=com_sbsfile&tmpl=audiovideo&cid=7094


http://www.voice.fi/index.php?option=com_sbsfile&tmpl=audiovideo&cid=7095

Salem in Finland...

I've only just found out about this one, so sorry it's late :(

Salem has been in Finland today and appeared on the KesäKummit charity concert tonight, which was very similar to the "Children In Need" show that we have on British TV every year. The only difference is that we aren't lucky enough to have someone like Salem appearing on that show! (Well maybe in the future...I can dream!)

EDIT 25.05.2010: you can watch the show at http://www.katsomo.fi/?progId=39928

(Many thanks again to our good friend Eva who sent me the link)

Salem performs "4 O´Clock" (1 min 24 sec into the show) and "Keep On Walking" (1 hour, 5 min and 42 secs into the show). As usual, he never disappoints. Looking and sounding great at the moment, don't you all agree? And I just love the hair ;)

There is also a nice Swedish-language interview with Salem on this Finnish website: http://www.peppar.fi/article/Salem-Al-Fakir-pa-Finlandsbesok

4 O'Clock: the video

Lund, 22.05.2010: discuss it here!

If you were one of the 4000 (or more) people who were in Lund last night, watching Salem headline the Lundakarnevalen, please leave your comments here if you have anything you want to tell us about the show.

So what's been happening then???

Hello again everyone, I’m back home now from my holiday in Bratislava - which was almost cancelled as the airports were all closed due to the volcanic ash cloud reappearing. However, the airport reopened just three hours before the flight was due to depart, so I was able to get away. Even if the weather wasn't so good, it didn't stop me having a great time in the beautiful capital city of Slovakia.

But that's enough about me, let’s talk about Salem! I’m just catching up with everything that’s happened over the past week...

4 O’Clock - single and mixes-EP released last Monday. Currently at no.45 in the iTunes chart, and No. 60 on Sverige Topplistan. Although I’m sure the song will climb much higher...

4 O'Clock - Video: the video for "4 O’Clock" was premiered on Spotify on Friday. Enjoy!
http://www.spotify.com/se/blog/archives/2010/05/21/salem/

The video was made by Andreas Ackerup and Stefan Segolson - well done, you did a great job! It's a very minimalist, black and white video which stays with the monochrome styling of "Ignore This". Of course you won't be able to ignore this video - and you won't take your eyes off the screen for one second. Some martial arts moves, some dancing, some clapping....and Salem barefoot ;))

Chart positions: Ignore This - no. 10 in the Sverige Topplistan / no. 6 on iTunes.
Keep On Walking - no. 35 in the Topplistan, no. 34 in the SR Digilistan. The song was the most played on Swedish radio for five weeks in a row but has finally fallen from the top spot to make way for Melodifestivalen winner This Is My Life. http://radionytt.se/nyheter/?p=5033
　
Good news - Keep On Walking is still at no. 1 in the Mix Megapol Topp 20: vote at
www.mixmegapol.se/program/mix-topp-20-gbg to keep it at the top for yet another week!

Keep On Walking is no. 2 on SR P3's Tracks chart this week - you have until 14:00 tomorrow to vote to keep the song up there in next week’s chart. Vote at
http://sverigesradio.se/cgi-bin/p3/tracks/index.asp?taskid=1

Djävulsrallyt: sadly Salem and Claudia narrowly missed out on a place in the final (they came third). You can watch last Monday night's programme again at www.kanal5play.se/program/play/djavulsrallyt-s01e01

Webchat: Salem did a webchat for sydsvenskan.se this week, just before his appearance at Lundakarnevalen. You can read the transcript at www.sydsvenskan.se/lund/karneval-2010/article880283/Chatta-med-Salem-al-Fakir.html

In that interview Salem mentioned that he will be appearing with his band at this year’s Malmofestivalen, which will take place between 20th and 27th August - although this hasn’t officially been announced yet, so I don't have any more details at the moment.

Lundakarnevalen 22.05.2010: check out these very positive reviews of last night’s show :-

http://www.lundagard.se/2010/05/23/trallvanlig-eufori-pa-stora-scenen/

http://www.expressen.se/noje/recensioner/konsert/1.1997902/full-fart-for-fakir

I think that's all for now! If I missed anything please let me know :))

Aiming for the sky...it's time for a break!

Tomorrow I am going away for a city break in Bratislava (Slovakia) for a few days. Anyway that is the plan, however as the volcanic ash cloud is now back over the UK, there is a real chance that I won't get away - most of our airports have been closed today and may be closed again tomorrow :(

If I do get away on holiday, Planet Salem will be closing for a few days and should return late on Saturday night. In the meantime keep the comments and emails coming and I will get back to you next weekend.

A couple of things before I go - remember that "4 O'Clock" is released as a single tomorrow! Also, Salem will be on "Djävulsrallyt" on Kanal 5 at 20:00 tomorrow night.

Vi ses snart.... :)

/Laura.

Swedish charts update

It's Sverige Topplistan time once again...

"Keep On Walking" has fallen to no. 28 in the singles chart. I was also very surprised to see that "4 O'Clock" had gone down to no. 57, although surely it will climb the chart again following its official release?

"Ignore This" continues to climb the albums chart again and is up to no. 10 this week. I suppose that with Salem's summer tour on the way, the album will continue to do well as more and more people discover his music.

Thanks everyone....

I want to thank everyone who contributed their views, set-lists and comments about Salem's shows at Berns last weekend. You all perfectly captured the special experience of a Salem Al Fakir concert and brought it alive for those of us who couldn't be there - and for those who were there, you helped them to relive the experience.

Since that time, I've watched all the video clips, looked at all the pictures and read all the blog posts and every one of them has had me buzzing with excitement. To hear everyone singing along with Salem's songs is a fantastic feeling...he has become so popular now and has so many devoted fans. Which is a wonderful thing indeed!

This week there has also been an increase in daily visitor numbers to Planet Salem, so once again thank you all. I want Planet Salem to keep growing as a community for Salem fans, a place where everyone is welcome to chat about our favourite musical genius!! So if you're a regular visitor, then don't be afraid to leave your comments on any of the posts which I publish - you are among friends here and I'm very happy to hear from each and every one of you!

More tour dates announced

I've only just found out about some new tour dates - I would have posted about it earlier but I haven't been around much today/tonight so apologies for the delay.

If you go to http://www.salemalfakir.com/turne/ you will find the full list of tour dates. The summer of 2010 is going to be a very exciting time for Salem fans in Sweden (and Finland and Norway!). I hope he is coming to a town near you!

EDIT 13.05.2010: I've had a look at some of the places which Salem will be visiting on his tour...but there are also a few familiar towns/cities missing from the list, which makes me wonder if there are further dates to be announced?

How many of you will be going to Dalhalla? This looks like a fantastic venue and it will be a special night - he will be performing with the Gävle Symfoniorkester, which will be under the direction of the brilliant conductor Hans Ek. Tickets go on sale at 10.00 am tomorrow.

Here's a little background information about the Gävle Symfoniorkester:

http://www.gavlesymfoniorkester.se/gs_om_symfoni.php

Salem on SVT's "Go'kväll" - Wednesday 12th May

Don't forget to tune in to SVT's "Go'kväll" this Wednesday. The show starts at 18:15 and Salem will be playing with his band in the studio. The show will also be available to watch later at SVT Play - I'll post the link tomorrow night.

EDIT 12.05.10: Watch the show again at http://svtplay.se/t/102930/gokvall

There's a brief interview with Salem at the beginning of the show, then he and the band perform "Keep On Walking". Salem is back again 28 minutes into the show, for another interview and then it's time for (clap clap) "4 O'Clock".

The sight of Salem singing and dancing around will definitely put a smile on your face. Very infectious and entertaining :))) Are you all pointing your fingers in the air ???? ;)

Radio Creme Brulee weekly chart update!

Salem still has two songs in this week's Radio Creme Brulee listeners chart - "Virgin Mary" is at no. 8 and "One of the Others" is at no. 13.

http://www.radiocremebrulee.com/Creme_Brulee_Weekly_Top_20.php

Dagens Nyheter review of Salem at Berns

Dagens Nyheter has a review of Salem's Berns concert here: http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/konsertrecensioner/salem-al-fakir-pa-berns-1.1091372

Swedish charts update

I forgot to mention yesterday that "Keep On Walking" has climbed back up to no.2 from last week's no.4, in the SR Tracks chart. So, as usual, it's time to rösta, rösta, rösta! Vote at http://sverigesradio.se/cgi-bin/p3/tracks/index.asp?taskid=1 - voting closes at 14:00 tomorrow.


Good news as "Keep On Walking" is still at no.1 in the Mix Megapol Mix Topp 20 chart this week - vote at http://www.mixmegapol.se/program/mix-topp-20 to keep Salem at the top of next week's chart!

In today's P3 Digilistan chart, "Keep On Walking" has slipped from no.11 to no.17 - and "4 O'Clock" is a new entry at no.48. http://sverigesradio.se/p3/topplistor/hitlistan/

The best news of course is that "Keep On Walking" remains the most played song on all Swedish radio stations over the past week - go to http://radionytt.se/nyheter/wp-content/uploads/rnm100507.pdf for the Nielsen Airplay Chart and a full listing of all the radio playlists. I guess it won't be long before "4 O'Clock" will be on the A-list playlists!!

Berns, Stockholm tonight and tomorrow - discuss it here!

Are you ready? Are you excited? Are you going to one (or more) of Salem's homecoming gigs in Stockholm tonight and tomorrow? Then this is the place to talk about it - please leave your comments on the show here.

I'm particularly interested to know about the set list (maybe Damien Adore will make a guest appearance??) and also what you thought about the support act, Oskar Linnros (I'm looking forward to his debut solo album).

I'm so excited for all of you....and of course I wish I was there. It will be fantastic.

Good luck Salem and the band for tonight and tomorrow!

Comments information

I can't remember if I mentioned this in any of my previous posts, but I'll just mention it anyway. Although this is an English language blog, you can leave comments on any posts in either English or Swedish. Many of my Swedish readers are better at the English language than I am :) but if you're maybe not so confident writing in English then it's ok to leave comments in Swedish!

As I live in a Salem-free zone (Britain), where most people haven't heard of him, it's great to chat with you all on this blog so keep the comments coming!

Swedish charts update

It's Friday, the weekend is nearly here and it's going to be a big weekend for all Salem fans in Stockholm of course :)

Anyway, let's have a look at the Sverige Topplistan charts - "Keep On Walking" is at no. 17 this week - and "4 O'Clock" is already at no. 49 ahead of its official release on 17th May.

More good news! "Ignore This" has gone back up to no. 11 in the album chart.

School choirs sing Salem!

I think I've just found Sweden's coolest school choirs: Hagaskolan and Navestadskolan performed "Keep On Walking" at a concert today and the video is now on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdk29egUnPs

Excellent work, boys and girls - well done!

Translation of "Glamour" magazine article

Thanks once again to my good friend Eva for the translation of the "Glamour" magazine article written by Emma Sundh, in which Salem and six other male artists were interviewed.

Read on...and enjoy!

"50 things you didn’t know about men".
We let some of Sweden’s most gorgeous men tell us a few secrets about themselves. Read, be amazed and fall in love anew.

Salem Al Fakir, 28 Just released a new album, ”Ignore This”

We consider ourselves to be simple and uncomplicated: "But the truth is, we are just as complicated as women are."

We have hormone cycles, too: "Just as women have hormone cycles, so do men – that's at least my opinion. Periods of time when we are extra sensitive and so on."

We like to pick up the bill: "A lot of girl gangs tend to split the bill among them, while me and my friends are glad to pay for each other – it all evens out in the end. We don't do it to crack one another, but because it's smooth and easy. Furthermore, lots of guys like to be gentlemen and for example hold the door for others. This doesn't necessarily imply that we are not equal."

Nerdy men are worth a second glance: "Nerdy men have many hidden talents. Widen your view and look beyond the stereotypes. Prince Charming isn't always the one you'd expect."

We have 'girls talk' too: "I may be part of that troop of men who can sit around talking for hours ..."

Men also analyse: "I analyse, but I don't do it just for the sake of it, but to come up to something. I believe there is a male twist to analysing."

We desire you: "Many guys can be bad at showing desire and affirmation, but that doesn't mean we don't feel desire and find you beautiful. After all, we choose you, choose to wake up with the same person every day."

We need affirmation, too: "Even if you – as I – receive acknowledgement on stage, it doesn't mean I don't have any need for affirmation. The most important and best kind of affirmation is the one you get from close friends and in a relationship."

We love it when you do little things: "I love it when someone does little things for me, such as tending me the bathroom towel when I'm washing my face. That makes me elated and happy. Those are the kind of things I'd gladly do for others, and I appreciate when someone does them for me."

Isn't that just so sweet!! Of course we would all hand you the bathroom towel, Salem :))))

Djävulsrallyt - new interview clip with Salem & Claudia

Tonight I found this interview clip with Salem and Claudia at Kanal 5's website: http://www.kanal5play.se/klipp/play/djavulsrallyt-infor-s01e01-claudiasalem

I think they make a really nice couple and I hope they win!! "Djävulsrallyt" will be screened on Kanal 5 on 17th May.

Platens Bar, Linköping tonight - discuss it here!

Salem will be playing at Platens Bar in Linköping tonight. If you're going, enjoy the show!

This is the comments post for the show so if you have any comments you want to make about the concert, please leave your comments here.

Thanks everyone!

Norske fans .... velkommen til Planet Salem!

It's all happening in Norway for Salem! "Keep On Walking" has been the most played song on NRK P3 radio this week, the song is no.41 in the Norwegian iTunes singles chart, and of course Salem appeared on "God Morgen Norge" today.

If you are one of Salem's Norwegian fans and you've just discovered his wonderful music, I thought it would be a good time to welcome you all to Planet Salem! And welcome back, to all of you who have been Salem fans for a long time :) Remember that you can leave your comments on any of my posts, and you are very welcome to email me anytime if you want to chat about everything to do with Salem Al Fakir! (I don't speak Norwegian, but comments in both English and Norwegian are welcome, as I'll translate them using Google Translate).

Also, if you have any news about Salem in Norway whether it's TV or radio appearances, reviews or other media articles, or anything else... please contact me and I'll mention it on the blog.

Takk!

All good things come to an end :(

After all these weeks, "Keep On Walking" has finally left the Rix FM Topp 6 Klockan 6 chart :( however I hope it won't be long until "4 O'Clock" makes an appearance and then the voting game can start all over again!

Yet another award for Salem !

Salem has been awarded the Swedish Sound Engineers Society prize - "the Golden Rule" - in recognition of his audio recording and mixing work. More information at
http://www.musikindustrin.se/712/nyheter.html

I'm particularly happy to see Salem get this kind of recognition, because he puts so much work into the recording, production and mixing of his songs, in addition to singing, songwriting, playing all the instruments....there is no end to the man's musical talent :)

Salem on "God Morgen Norge" - TV2, Norway

Salem appeared on TV2's "God Morgen Norge" today and sang "Brooklyn Sun" and "Keep On Walking". There is a link to the show at http://webtv.tv2.no/webtv/sumo/?treeId=16 (although when I clicked on this, it asked if I wanted to subscribe?)

EDIT 06.05.2010: Salem has posted these clips on his official site, but here are the links anyway...

"Keep On Walking":


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNRux8J11_M What a wonderful new band-arrangement of the song - I didn't know how it would work without the strings, but it works very well, it's extremely soulful, and I particularly liked the new ending to the song.

"Brooklyn Sun":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQwEone_FS8&NR=1 Well what more can you say about this song? Everytime I hear him sing this song live, it completely rips my heart to shreds. And despite faltering on the first note, Salem delivered what I think is one of his best vocal performances of this song that I've ever heard from him.

What time is it???

...it's "4 O'Clock" :D

And here is the cover of Salem's forthcoming new single - which stays with the same design-style as "Ignore This" and "Keep On Walking". The single will be released in two weeks' time, on 17th May.

Does anyone have any news about the video for the song yet, and when we will get to see it???

Radio Creme Brulee weekly chart update! / This week's Digilistan

In this week's listeners chart, "Virgin Mary" is at no.4 and "One Of The Others" is no. 16.
http://www.radiocremebrulee.com/Creme_Brulee_Weekly_Top_20.php

Meanwhile in the Sveriges Radio P3 Digilistan chart, "Keep On Walking" is at no.11 this week.
http://sverigesradio.se/p3/topplistor/hitlistan/

New "4 O'Clock" remix on YouTube

Do you want to hear a massive, irresistible dance mix of "4 O'Clock"? Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1qkE_Eoh-c where there is a massive new mix of the song by Claes Rosen, who is yet another in a long line of great Swedish dance remixers. What I particularly like about this mix is that it has enhanced the song without changing it too much. Good work - well done!

More screencaps : Telia commercial - behind the scenes

Here's my final set of screencaps from the Telia video clips.

Clap clap! :)

More screencaps : Telia interview - Spotify playlist

You can find all the interview clips with Salem on Telia's website :-

http://www.telia.se/privat/filmer?mid=D75CC5D4

More screencaps: Salem's Telia interview

These were taken from Salem's interview which he did when recording the Telia commercial in Prague. If you haven't seen the interview yet, you can watch it at http://www.telia.se/privat/filmer?mid=D75CC5D4

By the way, Eva.... glad you liked the Petra Mede Show pictures, and thanks for mentioning Planet Salem on Facebook! Much appreciated :))

Petra Mede Show : some screencaps

Better late than never ;))))))

More screencaps tomorrow, from the Telia-videos!

Tracks: no.4 :(

Finally after 7 weeks at the top, "Keep On Walking" has fallen from no.1 to no.4 in this week's Trackslistan. And guess who knocked Salem off the top spot? None other than his old friend Robyn, with her comeback song "Fembot"!

As usual you have between now and 14:00 on Monday to vote: http://sverigesradio.se/cgi-bin/p3/tracks/index.asp?taskid=1

Review of Salem at Popadelica : Musicstage.se

Check out Kristina Osterling's very positive review of Salem's set this afternoon at the Popadelica festival: http://www.musicstage.se/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1359:salem-al-fakir-popadelica-huskvarna-2010-05-01&catid=64:popadelica-2010&Itemid=139

And don't forget to check out the pictures too :) http://www.musicstage.se/index.php?option=com_joomgallery&func=viewcategory&catid=1458&Itemid=26